


Fur

by Mez10000



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebellion Era - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Alien Cultural Differences, Established Relationship, Fluff with a side of angst, M/M, Missing Scene, Misunderstandings, my explanation for #hotKallus, short fic, takes place between s3 and s4
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-27
Updated: 2018-05-27
Packaged: 2019-05-14 11:10:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14768445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mez10000/pseuds/Mez10000
Summary: Kallus needs a haircut. Zeb disagrees.





	Fur

Kallus examined his reflection in the fresher mirror. Since joining the rebellion, his hair - facial and otherwise - had grown. Not by much, half an inch on his head and just enough stubble to soften the pattern of his distinctive sideburns, but it was enough of a change to notice the difference. He had simply not had the time to groom himself normally - there always seemed to be some new emergency the moment he picked up a razor. 

Zeb snuck up behind him - as much as the tall, purple Lasat could be said to sneak when Kallus could see him clearly through the mirror, brow furrowed in concentration as he took careful, silent steps. Kallus was engulfed in a warm embrace that certainly came as no surprise, Zeb’s head resting lightly on his shoulder.

“Looking good, Kal,” Zeb purred.

That was the other reason Kallus had not found the time. Any spare moment Kallus tried to use in the mornings, he was met with his cuddly partner trying to drag him back to bed.

Kallus ran his fingers through his hair, testing the length between his fingertips.

“I’ll have to get it cut soon.”

Zeb recoiled with a growl. “You can’t!”

Kallus flinched. 

Zeb’s eyes darted to the floor and his shoulders slumped as he realised what he had said - and worse, how he had said it and to who.

“I…uh. Sorry. Do what you want, it’s your hair and…yeah.”

Zeb’s ears drooped. Kallus appreciated how easy Zeb was to read. After spending so long being trained to watch for the smallest tells in his colleagues, Zeb was like reading an open book. Even as embarrassed as he was, Zeb was making no attempt to mask his feelings, simply the cause.

Zeb turned, obviously intent on leaving. Kallus grabbed his arm. Zeb stopped. 

“Garazeb, please, what did I do wrong?”

Zeb’s eyes snapped back up to Kallus’. “You didn’t…it’s not you, Kal. I just forgot…” Zeb sighed. “It’s nothing. Doesn’t matter.”

“Obviously it does.”

“It’s a Lasat thing, okay? Having long patches of fur is a sign of…karabast, what’s the right word in Basic? Like happy…and healthy but over years?”

“Content?” Kallus offered.

Zeb made a noise that suggested it still did not hold the right nuance - that maybe no word in Basic did. “Close enough. Losing fur though stress or not eating or something is bad enough, but cutting it intentionally is…” Zeb paused, rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s like screaming to everyone you’re miserable.”

“That wasn’t my intent.”

“I know - karabast, Ezra and Sabine do whatever they want with their fur for all sorts of reasons, I know it’s not the same for humans. I just…didn’t think.”

That Zeb reacted to Kallus as though he were a Lasat rather than a human was…uncomfortable. Guilt coiled up in the pit of Kallus’ stomach even as he acknowledged how flattering it was. If he was someone else, perhaps, but this was yet one more kindness on a long list that Kallus didn’t deserve.

“I’d grow it out if I could, Zeb,” Kallus eventually replied. “But I’m pushing regulations as it is.”

Zeb frowned at Kallus, simply puzzled. Kallus thought about what he had said, replayed the words in his head. Then it clicked. Kallus buried his face in his hands.

“There aren’t any regulations on hair length, are there? Of course there aren’t, how many years have I seen Jarrus with that bantha-tail…”

Zeb’s ears perked up.

“You mean, you only wanted to cut your fur because you thought you had to? ‘Cause yeah, pointless military regulations mean Sith spit out here.”

“That is becoming increasingly obvious.”

Kallus looked up. Zeb caught his eyes, a cautious little smile on his face. Then, like a dam busting, the laughter came. At some point, the distance between them closed and Kallus found himself back in Zeb’s arms, sharing a gentle head bump and their relief. 

“It looks like I won’t be needing a haircut anytime soon,” Kallus said.

“Kal, really, I over-reacted. It’s your choice-”

“And I’m choosing not to cut it.”

It was not as though Kallus was attached to his former appearance, in fact, the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to distance himself from that straight-laced, highly regulated look he once had. He was not the Empire’s any longer, why shouldn’t his outward appearance reflect that?

Zeb’s smile broadened. “Then can we go back to the part where I tell you that you look good and you come back to bed?”

Kallus grinned back. “I think that sounds perfect.” 

**Author's Note:**

> So I watched all of Rebels in about two weeks, fell really hard for these two and my hand slipped. 
> 
> Big thanks to Ally for beta reading, general Star Wars nerdery and for being the best partner anyone could ever want.


End file.
